Gannayev's Vow

Summary: Fictional story of Mask of the Betrayer focusing on the romance between my heroine and Gann of Dreams. Follows the story line of the game with added dialog by the author.

Chapter 1 Prologue

Her eyes slowly opened. Where was she? What had
happened? Vaguely, Nica remembered the sounds of battle; smoke
swirling, people screaming, the ground shaking. She tried to raise
her head but found she couldn't. Her body seemed to be paralyzed. Her
chest ached horribly. Grimacing with pain she tried to force
herself to remember. The Shadow King!! Had they been victorious? Was
he finally defeated?

She tried to focus her eyes on her surroundings. A
haze of weird, colorful shapes swirled before her eyes. They suddenly
coalesced into a vibrant red and it took her a few minutes to realize
that someone was standing before her. She heard a voice faintly say.

"I'm here. Lie still." The woman in the red
robe, gazed down at the girl sprawled out on the bloodstained rock
beneath her feet.

Nica whispered, "Who are you? I can't see your
face."

"My name is Safiya", the woman answered. "The
binding spell should be wearing off by now. Do you think you can
stand?"

Nica tried to rise and managed to get to one knee.
Her muscles were aching so badly, she could hardly keep her balance.
She put her hand out to brace herself and felt hard stone. Instantly,
her mind cleared for a moment. Images of the Shadow King and her
companions flashed before her. The Shadow King was falling. They had
bested him. Some of her companions were grabbing her arm and trying
to pull her to safety. The ground was rumbling. The walls were
shaking. Large pieces of stone were falling all around them. What was
happening?

She removed her hand and doubled over in pain.
Where were her friends? Where was she?

She felt a strong arm curl around her back helping
her to rise. Shakily she stood erect and turned to see who had helped
her. A strange, bald-headed woman in red robes stood before her. Her
head was decorated with tracings and tattoos.

" Are you wounded?" she said. " You were
lying in a pool of blood and you seem to be covered in it."

Nica looked down and saw that the strange tunic
she was wearing was soaked with dark, crusty bloodstains. There were
flecks of blood on her hands and in her long, flaxen braid. Where was
her armor, her weapons, her pack? she wondered. She shook her head
but couldn't seem to clear the fog in her brain. She reached
underneath the tunic and felt her chest. There was a large wound
there but it felt like it had been raggedly stitched. The Shard!! It
seemed someone had cut it out of her!!

"The Shard!", she exclaimed, holding her hand over her chest. "Someone
removed it!"

"What are you talking about?" Safiya looked at her doubtfully. "Are
you saying you had something in your chest and someone cut it out of
you?"

"Yes, that's what it seems like." Nica was
dazed. "Who are you, again?" she questioned. "Where are my
friends?"

"My name is Safiya. I don't know where your
friends are. I was sent to get you."

"What do you mean? Where am I? Is the Shadow
King dead?"

"I wish I could answer all of your questions,
but I cannot. You are in the Barrow of the Bear God. How you came to
be here and what happened to you before, I do not know. All I know
was that my mother sent me to retrieve you and bring you to Lienna, a
friend of hers. For what reason, I was not told."

"Your mother? Who is she?"

"My mother is the headmistress of the Thayan
academy. We are Red Wizards, but, please, don't let that frighten
you. I am here to help and assist you."

Nica stared at her. "I don't understand. I don't
know anyone like that. I've never heard of the Thayan Academy or the
Barrow of the Bear God. This must be a dream."

Safiya patiently answered. "It's no dream and
the sooner we leave here, the better. The spirits here may awaken and
then we may have a fight on our hands."

As the grogginess left Nica, she noticed a
strange, flying creature hovering near Safiya's shoulder. "Is that
your animal companion," she asked. "No," Safiya responded.
"This is Kaji, a homunculi. I shaped his body from twigs and clay.
I gave life to him and taught him to speak."

"Oh," she tried to smile, but thoughts of a
certain wolf companion she knew strayed into her mind.

"I think I can walk now, " she said abruptly.

"All right, lets go," Safiya said. As they
slowly walked up a large stone ramp, Nica paused at the top and
looked behind her. A stone circle of pillars marked with strange
glowing runes lay below her.

"How in the hells did I get here?" she
murmurred.

They were proceeding down a dark tunnel, when
suddenly, a low, growling sound was heard. It seemed to echo
throughout the whole cavern. "That doesn't sound like Ipsit and
Seti", Kaji piped up.

"They are other homunculi I had sent on ahead,"
Safiya explained. "To let Lienna know we were coming. They can't be
back this soon."

"Here, take this." She withdraw a glittering
short sword from a scabbard she carried beneath her robes. "I
brought this along, just in case. It has an enchantment of frost on
it. Have you the strength to wield it?"

"I can only try", Nica said. She grasped the
hilt of the sword and the familiar feel of steel in her hand seemed
to center her somewhat.

"Wait a moment, did you say spirits? Where are
we, again?"

Safiya fought to stay patient. Which, the gods
knew, was not her strong suit. "I know you are weak and disoriented
but try to listen to me. We are in the Barrow of the dead Bear God in
Rashemen. He's been sleeping here for millennium but apparently our
presence has disturbed him and the animal spirits that reside with
him here."

"Rashemen?? But I'm from the Sword Coast!!"
Nica couldn't believe her ears. "How in the hells did I get here?"

"Again, I know nothing of what happened to you
or how you ended up here. I only know that I was sent to help you and
bring you back to this friend of my mothers. Are you ready to move
on? We really need to go. Just stay behind me and I will deal with
any spirits that may come along."

As they rounded a corner of the tunnel, a strange
blueish wolf stood in front of them, snarling & snapping in the
air. Nica tensed for an attack. But the wolf started speaking.

"There you are, Red Wizard. We smelled your
scent and it shook us from our sleep. Anything that emerges from the
Rune Cavern cannot be allowed to walk. Those were the words of our
god as he sank into slumber."

The wolf paused and sniffed the air. "What is
that vile smell? Blood!!" It snarled, lowered its head and
started to gather itself for an attack.

Nica suddenly clutched her abdomen. The pain was
excruciating. She seemed to feel an unnatural presence boiling up
inside of her. A black, unnameable horror seemed to engulf her. It
felt like someone had taken over her body and she was helpless to
control what was happening to her. She seemed to black out, for how
long she did not know. But when she opened her eyes, the wolf was
gone and Safiya was staring at her in a strange way.

"What just happened? That wasn't an arcane spell
or divine invocation. How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Nica gasped.

"It was like a dark cloud surrounded you; a
boiling, seething black mass. Suddenly the black mass seemed to
stretch out towards the spirit wolf and it was gone."

"I don't know. I didn't do it on purpose. It
felt like someone had taken over my body. I felt this horrible pain,
a feeling like an unquenchable hunger that seemed to emanate from the
depths of my being and I thought I had blacked out. But, strangely, I
feel fine. Exhilarated, even. My chest doesn't ache anymore and I've
never felt more alive in my life. Do you have any idea what happened
to me?"

Safya shook her head. "I've never seen anything
like that in my entire life!! But we have no time to ponder this. We
have to get out of here. Maybe Lienna will know what has happened to
you."

They wound there way through several layers of the
barrow, Nica picking up any loot she could find along the way. Since
all her belongings were gone, she knew eventually she would need gold
to buy new weapons and armor. The first thing she needed was to get
rid of this bloody tunic. "Thank the Gods, whoever did this to me
left me my boots and enchanted jewelry." she mused.

Several times they were attacked by animal spirits
but were able to overcome them. Nica was impressed with Safiya's
wizardry. As a fighting cleric, Nica relied more on her melee combat
skills than her magical abilities, however, she was able to cast a
few Flame Strikes to help Safiya out.

Safiya was also impressed. "This woman knows how
to fight." she silently thought."I can't believe how strong
she is, after everything she's been through."

They eventually reached a large cavern and could
see that the exit was blocked by a huge, colorful bear. It seemed to
be waiting for them. As they approached, it started to speak.

"What stirs the air and smells so foul? Go back
and die in the silence," the bear growled

Nica slowly stepped forward. "Please, I mean you
no harm. I don't want to disturb your rest. I don't even know how I
got here and all I want to do is leave and go home."

The bear bared his teeth and raised one
threatening paw. "I guard these caverns and the spirits in them. I
know what you are, little one. I smell the hunger that wakes in you."

"What in the hells is he talking about?" Nica
thought. However, she raised her sword arm and prepared for an
attack.

Safiya spoke up. "And I know you, Bear God. Leave us in peace or you will regret it."

The bear roared, "Neither of you shall leave my
den!"

He charged at them and suddenly a horde of spirit
animals surrounded him. Safiya started reciting spells one after the
other and Nica bounded forward with her blade swinging. The old
fighting spirit surged in her and her sword stabbed at anything that
got in her path. The Bear God was tough but it seemed she now had a
new strength to call upon. He was bleeding badly and was just about
to fall when he suddenly disappeared. They made short work of the
remaining spirits.

"I don't care", Nica was panting after the
exertion. "Let's just get out of here".

There was a door at the end of the barrow that led
up and out. They were finally free. It felt good to feel the fresh
air again and to see green grass and blue sky. The sun, she noticed,
was sinking in the west and twilight was upon them.

Nica dropped to the ground, totally overwhelmed by
what was happening to her.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Safiya looked
frightened for a moment.

"No, I'm fine." Nica assured her. " Just
totally confused, is all. The last thing I remember is my companions
and I were fighting the Shadow King back in some Illfarn ruins on the
Sword Coast. We had finally defeated him and then the whole structure
started to shake and seemed to be coming down on top of us. We ran
for our lives and that's the last thing I remember."

"The Sword Coast?" Safiya shook her head in
disbelief. "You are a long way from home. I vaguely remember
reading some lore about a Shadow King and the Illfarn empire but we
don't have time to discuss that now. Darkness is falling and I want
to get as far away from this barrow as we can. Who knows what might
follow us out? Mulsantir is about a day's journey from here, but I
saw a small hostel, about five leagues down the road. Hopefully
they'll have a spare room. By the way, you've never even told me your
name."

"It's Nica Shadowbane."

"Well met, Nica." Safiya put out her hand.
"You're not an elf, are you? Shadowbane is a strange name." She
let out a small chuckle. "However, I don't see any pointed ears or
slanted eyes."

"No, I'm not an elf," Nica smiled for the
first time since she had awoken. "I'm a human. The name is strange,
I admit. But that's what my foster father told me it was. I never
knew my parents." She paused. "It fits though. I was the
"bane" of the Shadow King, that's for sure!!"

For a moment she let herself savor her past
victories but the faces of her former companions started to intrude
into her memories and she had to force herself to stop thinking about
them.

"Well, shall we head out?"

"Yes." replied Safiya. "Let's go."

As they trudged down the road, Nica kept trying to
make sense of what was happening to her but to no avail. Thoughts of
her companions kept running through her mind. She had to deliberately
force them out or she knew she would break down. "No time to think
of that now," she kept telling herself. They finally reached a
small run-down hostel and luckily a room was available.

As they entered the room, Nica turned to Safiya.
"I really need to get cleaned up. I probably look like I've
traveled through all the levels of the Nine Hells. You wouldn't
happen to have a spare change of clothes on you?"

Safiya grinned. "My mother told me you would
probably be needing something else to put on, so I brought along one
of my old robes for you. It's not red, so don't worry. You can
pretend you're a wizard for awhile."

Nica gratefully grabbed it and headed for the
bath. It felt so good to soak in a hot tub again. She donned Safiya's
robe, which fit perfectly, piled her hair on top of her head in a
knot, and headed back to the room.

Upon her return, Safiya eyed her admiringly.
Definitely an improvement. She spoke up. "Well, you've been
eviscerated, paralyzed and assaulted by countless spirits. How are
you feeling?"

"I'm okay, but still really confused." Nica
smiled wryly. "It's almost like someone's played a bad joke on me,
however, it's no joke, is it?"

"No, it's not a joke, however, we should be safe
here. Now do you want to try and tell me what happened to you?"

Nica proceeded to tell her the long story of the
last few months of her life. But as she neared the end of the tale,
she burst out sobbing and lay on the bed shaking. Her friends,
Khelgar, Elanee, Casivir, Grobnar, Sand and even Ammon Jerro and
Zhaeve. What had become of them? Were they all dead? How did she
survive?

Her thoughts turned to Qara and a rage burned
inside of her. "I could care less about that little, stuck-up,
fire-bombing bitch."she thought. Sand's "idiot girl" had
died in the battle and Nica was not sorry she was dead. But, poor Neeshka.
To be tortured and bound like that by Black Garius and made to fight
against her friends. It was too horrible to comprehend.

And Bishop! By the gods, she had really thought he
loved her. How could he have turned on her and betrayed them to the Shadow King?!! Even though he had been cruel
and cold-hearted most of the time they were together, valuing his
freedom more than her company, she had hung on to the little bit of
tenderness he had shown her, hoping he would change. She did not even
want to start thinking about the long nights of lovemaking they had
had together; the sleeping passions he had aroused within her.

She was still in a state of shock regarding his
betrayal. She despised herself now for ever believing in him and felt
like a stupid fool. Her friends had been right. He was evil
and he couldn't be trusted. He had betrayed her love, their friends,
Neverwinter and everything she was striving for!! Although, now that
she thought about it, something had kept him from actually fighting against
her at the last. Was it only her taunt that now he had a bigger
obligation in front of him than she had ever been that had stayed his
hand? Or did he still care about her?

And poor Casivir. She had treated him horribly.
She knew he had loved her but she could never return his feelings.
Not only because of Bishop, but his high and holy Paladin ways had
really gotten on her nerves. But she realized now what a true friend
and protector he really was. It made her sob all the harder.

"There, there, it's alright." Safiya walked
over and awkwardly patted her shoulder. "I know you probably need
to get this out, but you're going to make yourself sick. We have a
long trip ahead of us so we should get some rest. If you need to talk
again, later, I'll be more than willing to listen. I don't have much
experience with such passionate emotions and I've never really had
friends like you described, but I will try and help you, if I can."

Nica gulped, trying to wipe the tears from her
eyes with her hand. " I'm sorry. I just got overwhelmed thinking
about my friends. It's horrible not knowing if they are alive or
dead. I really cared about them and it now it seems my whole past
life is gone and I've been magically transported to the ends of
earth. And I haven't a clue as to why, but thank you for your
understanding."

"Hopefully, we can get some answers from,
Lienna," Safiya said matter-of-factly. "Try and get some sleep
now."

Kayla Wentz:
This book had me hooked from the beginning! I kept coming back for more. It only took me a day to read! I couldn't put it down! Absolutely A-Mazing! This book keep the story going and there's never a dull moment!

MavisMcQueen:
"To Live Again" is a well crafted, highly engaging, heart vibrating tale surrounding our favorite Elven King. The author will keep you engrossed until the very end and by that time you will feel so strongly for Clara and the other characters that you will never want it to end...like ever. Thrandu...

Lauren Suzmeyan-Raine:
I'm so glad you found a place to post your stories. I was horrified when I saw yours had been taken down, they are definitely the best 'reading' stories I've ever read. And I've made it my business to read every one I can. Well done.Lauren

ernbelle:
When I first started this story I was a little unsettled by all of the information that appears in the prologue, and wasn't sure if I would continue. However, I am very glad I did. The plot was very well thought out and really interesting. There were not any page breaks or markers to acknowledge ...

Flik:
Hi! ^.^ huge fan of yours on ff.net! When I saw the note about this contest on The Way We Smile, I couldn't help but rush over here, create an account, and vote! XD Seriously love this story and would recommend it to anyone! :D best FT fanfiction out there. Amazing story, amazing concept that wa...

Animeviewer:
It is one of the best stories I've ever read. This story will have you riding a roller coaster of emotions and nearly dying to know what happens next.You will get very attached to the characters and in my case I relate well with some of their very traumatic or emotional experiences, Just Juliet f...

Hudson:
Your story was fantastic Erin! The Rising Sun was one of the first stories I read on Inkitt, and I have to say I don't regret the three to four days I spent pouring through the story.Probably the biggest strength I see in your writing is your characterisation of Eliana, Oriens, and the rest of th...

europeanlove:
I gotta hand it to you. I love reading. I read books everyday. When the book is good I can read it in probably 13 hours. Your story was amazing. Great prose, very imaginative. Incredible dialogue. I am deeply impressed. Keep it up.

Jenn Deering:
This is a go-to story for when you're needing a little happiness in your life. It's well-crafted, and characters are true to their show-selves. The pace is right, there are minimal grammatical errors, and the plot is fresh.

Felisa Yoder Osburn:
I really enjoyed the story. Civil War stories are some of my favorites and the intertwining of the past with current times was wonderful. I look forward to reading the next stories.

summerstone:
Seriously this is one of the best books I've ever read. The plot is intriguing, I love the narrative style. Its very descriptive and unique, with minimal cliches. It makes for a great read and the sequels are amazing. Totally worth reading. ^^ That's me trying to be professional. But in all hones...

Schaelz:
I was intrigued from the second I started reading, and it kept my interest the whole way through. Chelsea has a way with words that will enchant you until the very end. She is very poetic with the way she mixes genres and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The main character is also very relat...